The Reporter

Wednesday, April 29, 199S \QP jtuiyi > Readers speak out. Letters to the Editor, 2-4< Volume 110, Issue 27 News: [email protected]! ^X1te£v^ffe'@sletSan^^ Forum: [email protected] ^ jf Ads: [email protected] ;:| pGenefaT(?e^^^^^ http://reporter.stetson.edu/ The year in Life: a look back at what was entertaining this year. Life, page 1b Stetson University, DeLand, Florida By ANDY DEHNART Editor-in-Chief The committee charged with awarding fraternity of the year decided not to give the title to any of the three fraternities who applied. The most improved fraternity award was given to Phi Sigma Kappa by the committee. The three fraternities that applied for the fraternity of the year award were Sigma Phi Epsilon, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Sigma Nu, according to Darald Stubbs, director of Stu dent Life and the Hollis Center. "I agree with the committee's rationale," Stubbs said. He said the committee felt that the groups had met some of the requirements, but the fraternity of the year is "expected to excel in each of the areas." Stubbs said the "reviewing committee is made up of Greek chapter and faculty advisers"—those who "have been affiliated with Greek organizations." Those people are knowledgeable about what is required for the award, he said. Damon Raque. president of the Interfra- temity Council, said he selects the group of people who give the award. "I tried to select an unbiased committee," he said. "I respect the decision of the committee. They didn't feel that one fraternity" met all the criteria set for the award. According to the general guidelines for the award, the selected fraternity should "have a strong recruitment program and upward growth trend with qualitative emphasis on diversity," and "run efficient and effective chapter operations and conduct self-evalua tions of the chapter and officers." Both are among ten overall guidelines that the fraternities must proactively prove they have met, Stubbs said. A three-page application includes the following subjects: academics, membership, member development, alumni relations, intramurals/President's Cup, chapter involvement on campus in the community, chapter operation and self-evaluation, house maintenance, goals, and recommendations/documentation/pictures. Stubbs said that various fraternities are "responding as if they were guaranteed to win. It is a major achievement that requires a lot of work and effort to get there." "Most of the feedback I've gotten back was negative," Raque said. Raque said that, in the opinion of those who have discussed it with him, the honor is a "relative award, for best fraternity of the year." The "general consensus" from the groups, Raque said, is that the fraternities should have been informed that the award was based on overall standards and not relative to other fraternities this year. By REPORTER STAFF and PUBLIC RELATIONS A team of students from Stetson recently placed first in a worldwide competition, and tied for first with teams from Duke and Harvey Mudd in another. The three-member team's solution to a mathematical problem was chosen by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) as the top paper in the world. Team members Matt Galati, Amanda Richardson and Jeff Fay tackled a solution to grade inflation problems at a fictional college and used statistical methods to analyze the effect of their proposal. The team also captured the national title in the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) annual competition, which is held each February on campuses across the country. Results are announced each April. Others winners on the same problem were teams from Duke University, Durham, N.C, and Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. "Stetson has never placed in the competition before—this is definitely a surprise," said Matt Galati, one ofthe team members. Fay, who has participated in the competition for the past four years, said that he was "absolutely amazed. We're competing against [teams from] MIT' and other well-known schools. This year the Stetson solution was chosen as one of seven outstanding papers from more than 470 submitted, Erich Friedman, the students' faculty advisor and an assistant professor of mathematics, said. "The teams selected one of two open- ended mathematical modeling problems and worked on the solution for three and one-half days at their individual campuses," said Friedman. As winners, the students will receive memberships in COMAP and their paper will be published this fall in the Journal of Undergraduate Mathematics and its Applications (UMAP). A mathematics major with minors in computer science and business, Galati will attend graduate school at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. Richardson, majoring in math with a physics minor, is deciding between offers from graduate schools and a national consulting firm. Fay is majoring in both computer science and math and works as a system administrator for Stetson's Center for Information Technology. Note Due to computer problems beyond our control, the News section is limited to this page* We apologize for any inconvenience. This is also the last issue of the academic year. We will resume publication next year, ortAug. 26. From the President Statement from H. Douglas Lee: "At the request of University officials, the Trustee Audit Committee requested that Coopers & Lybrand conduct a limited audit into the "rumors and allegations of bad business practices and/or wrongdoing" which surfaced on campus last spring and which were referred to in the April 8,1997 edition of The Stetson Reporter. Coopers 8. Lybrand has completed their report this spring. It was reviewed by the Chair of the Audit Committee and by the Coopers & Lybrand that there is "no evidence of willful wrongdoing, misconduct, or bad business practice.'" IVERSITY > Daren Mooko evaluated the climate for race relations on campus. ■ft JOTUBmUtl^ U ilMDW L«J \ -\ *—, > 1 ' f: • II '■ r-mr - 1 r~—, if 3[ If ft , ft- IF It l| -at It- j 6 jr) ,]S tin i.] v i Oiv in i. u. 1 - Mf\ lvJUM tf • W ft 1 |.:: |'1| |nl [fir It if' , --^'_ ■■""dpv.**[. »>" W. »'. ■ . ■ • ■ -ll4J,S*B,5'\"fv-"',*v- - ■ ■ ' . »tc3&;.:-y. . •. *,*... ■ - ■:..-.". « W'S'™'*.-:.-'-"- "'■"'.'' - so;.. By SARA COTNER Online Editor ir*5**^ aren Mooko, a specialist in issues jj }| of race and multiculturalism, JL*.*** gave a keynote speech last Wednesday night addressing Stetson's climate concerning diversity. His talk stemmed from a five-day visit to campus. Mooko, director ofthe Asian-American Resource Center at Pomona College in Calif., talked with students, faculty and staff to assess the general attitude toward race and multiculturalism on campus. The Reporter, with the support of Residential Life and the Honors Program Student Alliance, coordinated Mooko's visit in response to incidents surrounding a racist letter to the editor published in the November 19 issue of* The Reporter. Andy Dehnart, editor-in-chief of The Reporter, recognizes the importance of having an outside evaluator come to campus. "Since Daren works at another university, he is able to provide a more objective perspective. His visit helped generate dialogue and discussion about issues that really need to be discussed," he said. Mooko met with several different groups and individuals on campus, including President Lee, the vice president for Campus Life, the director of multicultural affairs, next year's SGA president, the director of Student Life, The Reporter staff, RAs and head residents, Alpha Kappa Alpha, individual students and professors, classes and residents of Nemec Beta. He gathered information from these sessions to prepare his keynote address and will also write a comprehensive report discussing his findings. During his keynote speech, the cul- Stetson does have a race PROBLEM, BUT MOOKO SAID THAT HE HAS NOT VISITED ANY SCHOOL THAT DOESN T HAVE ONE minating event of his visit, Mooko addressed the common themes that emerged during his conversations with various segments of the campus community. He said Stetson does have a race problem, but he admitted that he has not visited any school that doesn't have one. His first observation was that the campus has "a lack of serious in-depth dialogue about issues of race." Since the vast majority of the campus is white, Mooko said that "people have the option not to talk about race at Stetson." Among ALANA students (Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, and Native Americans), conversations about race generally occur in small groups and center on specific events. Mooko also said that conversations among whites often take the form of "jokes, insults or slurs," although not all conversations among whites are negative. Mooko discussed the "distinct barriers" inhibiting genuine dialogue about issues of race. He said that political correctness has created hesitation among students. Some students fear being called racists, while others don't see the value in talking about issues of race. He also noted that some ALANA students worry about appearing militant if they raise these issues during class discussions. Further, students tend to have a collective reaction to discussions about race. These reactions often include sighing, rolling their eyes or simply ignoring the discussion. Overall, Mooko said, "the sincerity level is way too low." Mooko also pointed out that people at Stetson have a "lack of confidence in the administration to do things about these issues." He said that a general distrust in the administration exists, because the perception is that "their only interest in these issues is to make sure that Stetson's image is sparkling clean." 'Another issue that Mooko addressed was the lack of academic attention to race. > .... -'%#,.*£•% ift>< .■■,<■* ANALYISIS: Daren Mooko, director of the Asian- American Resource Center at Pomona College in Calif., delivers his findings about race relations on campus. Mooko has done similar campus climate evaluations at schools like Notre Dame and Ball State University. He noted that students can graduate without ever having discussed issues of race or racism. Further, when race and racism are talked about, they are often contextualized as only black and white issues. The university, as a whole, has also failed to construct a clear, consistent and informed definition of racism, said Mooko. The last theme that Mooko discussed was the theme of consumption. When issues of diversity are discussed, the dominant culture tends to consume what they want and then leave. He cited examples of events sponsored to promote diversity, such as movie nights or barbecues. When these types of events are the only form of cultural sharing, said Mooko, people "walk away after it's over, and their lives are virtually unchanged." After discussing the common themes that emerged during discussions with various groups, Mooko delineated areas of improvement for the campus. His first recommendation was to instigate genuine dialogue about race. In order to be successful, these discussions should occur within small groups of 10-12 people and should be facilitated by a knowledgeable and educated person. Historical context is important during these discussions, Mooko said, and opinions should be backed up with facts. Discussions should not degenerate into "episodes of The Jerry Springer Show," he said. A primary goal of the university should be to "transform the consciousness of every Stetson student. Everyone should be able to distinguish between these three categories: what was, what is and what's possible," Mooko said. Operating in one category when the reality is another category leads to failure, he said. MOOKO SAID THAT A GENERAL DISTRUST IN THE administration EXISTS, BECAUSE THE PERCEPTION IS THAT THEIR ONLY INTEREST IN THESE issues is to make sure that Stetson's image IS SPARKLING CLEAN. Photo by Paul Davis Although he would "love a color blind society," he stated that "affirmative action is the necessary reality." He used an analogy of a broken foot to explain this concept. Although a healed foot is the goal, a person cannot walk on a broken foot simply because he or she wishes it were healed. Instead, the person must treat the foot according to its stage of healing. Mooko also urged the campus community to pay "close attention" to President Lee's diver- sity commitment. Mooko said that "it's a serious document that has teeth to it." The commitment addresses areas such as educational training, recruitment, campus life, curriculum and the campus climate. Mooko said, "Help people to make this a reality. Go back and add timelines, and begin to hold people accountable." Mooko also said that "the issue of whiteness has to be up front and center. It has to have its time on the table." He said that discussions about whiteness will help people recognize race as a social construct and understand the concept of white privilege. "When people say they are affected by racism," Mooko said, "believe them. Any progress cannot and should not be done on the backs of people of color." In closing, Mooko said, "The university can't measure progress only on its intentions." Mooko will send a copy of his final report to Dehnart, as well as Wendy E. Donna, the assistant director of Student Life, and copies will be available for all interested students, faculty and staff. FORUM: An ode to Stetson from a departing senior, 2a LIFE: Wind ensemble concert a success, 2b I SPORTS: Top sports moments I of the year, 4b [i a ■ !»USrJiAt»J>i <~> News 1a Forum 2-4a Et Cetera 5a Life 1-2b Sports 4-5b